S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
7586
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
May 10, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI, JAFFEE -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to expanding the right
to assistance of counsel to include petitioner kinship caregivers in
custody and guardianship proceedings and respondents in guardianship
proceedings
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 262 of the family court act, as
added by chapter 682 of the laws of 1975, the opening paragraph as
amended by section 3 of part A of chapter 3 of the laws of 2005, para-
graphs (i) and (iv) as amended and paragraph (ix) as added by chapter 3
of the laws of 2012, paragraph (ii) as amended by chapter 693 of the
laws of 1981, paragraph (iii) as amended by chapter 666 of the laws of
1976, and paragraph (viii) as added by chapter 456 of the laws of 1978,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) Each of the persons described below in this subdivision has the
right to the assistance of counsel. When such person first appears in
court, the judge shall advise such person before proceeding that he or
she has the right to be represented by counsel of his or her own choos-
ing, of the right to have an adjournment to confer with counsel, and of
the right to have counsel assigned by the court in any case where he or
she is financially unable to obtain the same:
(i) the respondent in any proceeding under article ten or ten-A of
this act and the petitioner in any proceeding under part eight of arti-
cle ten of this act;
(ii) the petitioner and the respondent in any proceeding under article
eight of this act;
(iii) the respondent in any proceeding under part three OR FOUR of
article six of this act;
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10904-03-9
A. 7586 2
(iv) the parent or person legally responsible, foster parent, or other
person having physical or legal custody of the child in any proceeding
under article ten or ten-A of this act or section three hundred fifty-
eight-a, three hundred eighty-four or three hundred eighty-four-b of the
social services law, and a non-custodial parent or grandparent served
with notice pursuant to paragraph (e) of subdivision two of section
three hundred eighty-four-a of the social services law;
(v) the parent of any child seeking custody or contesting the substan-
tial infringement of his or her right to custody of such child, in any
proceeding before the court in which the court has jurisdiction to
determine such custody;
(vi) ANY PERSON ACTING AS A PARENT OF A CHILD, WHO IS SEEKING CUSTODY
OR GUARDIANSHIP OF SUCH CHILD UNDER PART THREE OR FOUR OF ARTICLE SIX OF
THIS ACT, AND WHO IS A KINSHIP CAREGIVER OF SUCH CHILD. FOR THE PURPOSES
OF THIS PARAGRAPH THE TERM KINSHIP CAREGIVER SHALL MEAN ANY PERSON
DESCRIBED UNDER PARAGRAPH (A), (B), OR (C) OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF
SECTION FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT-A OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW;
(VII) any person in any proceeding before the court in which an order
or other determination is being sought to hold such person in contempt
of the court or in willful violation of a previous order of the court,
except for a contempt which may be punished summarily under section
seven hundred fifty-five of the judiciary law;
[(vii)] (VIII) the parent of a child in any adoption proceeding who
opposes the adoption of such child[.];
[(viii)] (IX) the respondent in any proceeding under article five of
this act in relation to the establishment of paternity[.]; AND
[(ix)] (X) in a proceeding under article ten-C of this act:
(1) a parent or caretaker as such terms are defined in section one
thousand ninety-two of this act;
(2) an interested adult as such term is defined in section one thou-
sand ninety-two of this act provided that:
(A) the child alleged to be destitute in the proceeding held pursuant
to article ten-C of this act was removed from the care of such inter-
ested adult;
(B) the child alleged to be destitute in the proceeding held pursuant
to article ten-C of this act resides with the interested adult; or
(C) the child alleged to be destitute in the proceeding held pursuant
to article ten-C of this act resided with such interested adult imme-
diately prior to the filing of the petition under article ten-C of this
act;
(3) any interested adult as such term is defined in section one thou-
sand ninety-two of this act or any person made a party to the article
ten-C proceeding pursuant to subdivision (c) of section one thousand
ninety-four of this act for whom the court orders counsel appointed
pursuant to subdivision (d) of section one thousand ninety-four of this
act.
§ 2. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (a) of section 1094 of the family
court act, as amended by chapter 3 of the laws of 2012, is amended to
read as follows:
(1) appoint an attorney to represent the child in accordance with
section two hundred forty-nine of this act, and appoint an attorney to
represent a parent, caretaker or interested adult in accordance with
paragraph [(ix)] (X) of subdivision (a) of section two hundred sixty-two
of this act, if he or she is financially unable to obtain counsel;
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law.